A Scriptural Pattern That Demonstrates the Book of Mormon's Authenticity

The Book of Mormon is full of repeated words and phrases. Many of these repetitions have to do with poetic structures called parallelisms. However, one particular type of repetition—called repetitive resumption—is likely a feature of the Book of Mormon’s editing process, rather than its poetry. Learning to recognize repetitive resumption may be worthwhile because its use in the Book of Mormon often points out or clarifies important teachings.

Repetitive resumption was often used by biblical authors to add content to an existing text while still maintaining a coherent flow of ideas. After interrupting an idea with an explanatory or clarifying aside, the writer would then repeat a phrase close to the beginning of the interruption. This would provide a signal to the reader that the interruption was over and that there would be a return to the original flow of ideas. According to biblical scholar David Bokovoy, repetitive resumption was “one of the primary signs of editorial activity in the Old Testament.”